BT Sport partners with Avid and Harmonic for new centre

BT Sport has selected Avid and Harmonic to provide infrastructure for its new centre, based in iCITY, London, in the former International Broadcast centre (IBC). The channels include BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN which all go live today.

BT Sport has implemented an Avid end-to-end tapeless asset management, storage, and audio and video editing workflow to create, access and distribute the hundreds of hours of sports content that will pass through the new facility each year. In addition, BT Sport is using Harmonic processing, storage, and playout systems to enable fast turnaround production and to support the broadcast of high-profile live sports.

The Avid integrated workflow at iCITY comprises: Avid Interplay Production asset management, which will be the central hub for all BT Sport's media; Avid ISIS 7000 shared storage, and 25 Avid Symphony Nitris DX editing stations to handle the live feeds, pre-recorded footage and studio-based content. A dubbing suite equipped with Avid Pro Tools HDX and a 32-fader ICON D-Control mixing console has also been installed.

Tom Cordiner, vice president international sales at Avid, said: We're delighted that BT Sport has chosen our solutions to be at the heart of its new facility to take advantage of these benefits. During the London 2012 games, broadcasters based in the IBC proved just how robust Avid solutions are at handling hundreds of hours of live media in a 24/7 fast turnaround environment, so it's fitting that BT Sport has taken up residency there.

BT Sport has also used Harmonic Spectrum playout servers with Spectrum MediaPort realtime video encoder/decoders and SAS-based Spectrum MediaStore storage arrays. The company's ProStream 1000 stream processing platform and NMX Digital Service Manager carries the main services for the BT Vision Platform, which includes BT Sport. The ProStream 1000 provides simulcrypt scrambling and is integrated with Nagra and Marlin digital rights management systems.

"Harmonic video infrastructure enables leading media companies to achieve fast, efficient delivery of content while maintaining the highest video quality standards," said Ian Graham, vice president of sales, EMEA, at Harmonic. "The interoperability, performance, and reliability of our processing, storage, and server systems allow users such as BT Sport to leverage all their resources effectively in creating exciting and engaging content for their viewers."

www.avid.com

www.btsport.com

www.harmonicinc.com

LINK:	http://www.tvbeurope.com/theworkflownews-content/full/bt-sport-partner...
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